Hello all,
I have just got my 3DR kit quad Arducopter with GPS 3DR GPS uBlox LEA-6.
During the assembly process that little GPS board fell a two or three times on my table from the height of the quad frame (I would say 10 to 20 cm high).
Then yesterday I connect the arducopter via USB , I see a workinh GPS in the mission planner, no problem (3 sats locks being inside which is not so bad).
But today I connect it again and absolutely no satlletite found : zero, nada, nohting. I tried to reboot the thing many times, still same problem.
I then inspected the ceramic antenna and notice a small crack on one corner of the ceramic square (the GPS antenna that is).
Is it possible that this would be the cause of the GPS not detecting satellites or is this another known problem ?
Thx for help
Replies
Hello all,
In the CLI window the LEA-6 responds and displays 0 Lat, 0 Long and 0 sats.
So the cable is good.
Yes the crack is welll inside the metalized area, si I suspect antenna is dead.
Is there a way I good unsolder this antenna to solder a new one ? Where can i get such a ceramic antenna ?
Hugues,
Did you try it outdoors? If you only had 3 sats yesterday it could easy be 0 today.
Regarding the ceramic patch antenna. If the crack includes some of the metalized area you have a problem and it could be the cause. Anyway try to check it outside.
/Benny
@Hugues,
Is the red power LED on the LEA-6 coming on when you power up the APM? If it is not coming on then maybe you should check the GPS to APM cable to make sure that it is not loose. Also, try pressing down on the cable connector on the GPS to see if there are weak solder joints between the connector and the pcb. You might also go into the MP Terminal Mode and use the CLI to check the GPS using the test function. If the test function can communicate with the GPS then the cable connection is good assuming that the GPS power LED is on.
Just a thought.
Regards,
TCIII